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Zen Web Software Management

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:52:00 GMT

I thought I'd throw together a list of simple and basic (Zen) web software development "principles" that I try to keep in mind as I work on infrastructure, architecture, release process planning for my company, Peoplexs.com.

DISCLAIMER: These are pretty high-level, may be obvious to many and cliche to others, but are worth mentioning because they are so often missed or ignored by very smart people and organizations.

(in no particular order)

Communicate constantly, both upwards and downwards.
Spend the highest percentage of time on design, UI, and detailed specifications, rather than on development.
Under-promise, and over-deliver.
Commit to, and invest in, professional QA Testing.
The time to build automated tools (for testing, making builds, and releases) is well worth it in the end.
Document, practice, and update your Disaster Recovery Plan.
Lead Developers must manage expections for Product Managers at least as much as Product Managers manage the products.
Use quality, time-tested, software for integrating release management, defect tracking, and project management such as Jira or FogBugz.
Inform everyone as early as possible if project is running late.
Adding more developers late in a project only makes it more late.
Have Product Managers review, and then commit to, a final UI before development begins.
Developers want and need time to do cool and fun work. Giving them some such will help motivation and productivity.
Schedule in patch releases and archictural releases regularly, and at least 2 times per year if usage is growing quickly.
Listen fully to all suggestions and criticism, without a defensive attitude.
Be strong, and don't let a few clients dictate your long-term strategies.
Invest in Technical Conferences and Training for your team.
Empower every team member. Give each person at least one specialty that he is "in charge of".
Trust your veterans, even after they make mistakes, as they are probably more upset at themselves than you are at them.
Use something simple and flexible, like a Wiki, for internal documentation. And don't be too strict on *how* it's documented - you're lucky that there is *any*.
Lead, don't push or drag.
Celebrate, or at least acknowledge, significant accomplishments. It doesn't have to be a huge party. Something as simple as a short, yet specific, thank you on IM will do nicely... or saying to one of the Executives, "Check out the creative and helpful widget that [Developer X] whipped up last Friday!" in front of a room full of co-workers (unless Developer X is extremely shy... which sounds like a mythical person to me ;)
Keep your negative comments to private conversations as much as you can. Publicly positive people are much more likely to be followed and liked. Of course there's a fine line you must walk to keep from seeming like you're *two-faced*.
A fun, exciting work environment begins with you, from within.

I'll probably add to this list as I think of ramdom, appropriate items.

Peace.

It is OUR earth, not yours or mine or his...

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 19:12:00 GMT

It is our earth, not yours or mine or his. We are meant to live on it, helping each other, not destroying each other. - J. Krishnamurti

seek and you shall NOT find

Wed, 16 May 2007 15:47:38 GMT

"A man who is seeking for realization is not only going round searching for his spectacles without realizing that they are on his nose all the time, but also were he not actually looking through them he would not be able to see what he is looking for!" - Ask the Awakened by Wei Wu Wei

there may be less to you than you thought

Tue, 08 May 2007 13:04:58 GMT

"Your constant utilization of thought to give continuity to your separate self is 'you'. There is nothing there inside you other than that." - U.G. Krishnamurti

imaginary center: the ego?

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 12:16:02 GMT

"Are you still thinking, looking, living, as from an imaginary phenomenal center? As long as you do that you can never recognize your freedom." - Open Secret by Wei Wu Wei

daily meditation on truth

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 11:44:39 GMT

The seeing of Truth cannot be dualistic (a 'thing' seen). It cannot be seen by a see-er, or via a see-er. There can only be a seeing which itself is Truth. 'All Else is Bondage; Non-Volitional Living' - Wei Wu Wei

http://www.amidabuddha.org/news/11Apr2007.html

constantly seeking pleasure? is it true?

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 16:55:18 GMT

"For us, pleasure is extraordinarily important. We do things out of pleasure. We run away from anything that is painful, and we reduce things to the values, to the criteria of pleasure. So pleasure plays an extraordinarily important part in our life, as an ideal, as a man who gives up this so-called worldly life to find another kind of life—it is still the basis of pleasure. Or when a man says, ‘I must help the poor’, and indulges in social reform, it is still an act of pleasure; he may cover it up by saying ‘service’, ‘goodness’, and all the rest of it; but it is still a movement of the mind that is seeking pleasure or escaping from anything that causes a disturbance which it calls pain. If you observe yourself, this is what we are doing in daily life, every moment." - J. Krishnamurti

I hate to admit it, but as usual Krishnamurti is on to something. If I look deeply and clearly at myself from moment to moment, the vast majority of pursuits revolve around seeking more pleasure or avoiding pain. Do others find this to be true as well?

Einstein was Zen

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 20:16:11 GMT

"There are moments when one feels free from one's own identification with human limitations and inadequacies. At such moments one imagines that one stands on some spot of a small planet, gazing in amazement at the cold yet profoundly moving beauty of the eternal, the unfathomable; life and death flow into one, and there is neither evolution nor destiny; only Being." - Albert Einstein

Zen from the Dalai Lama

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 01:45:09 GMT

While true that the Dalai Lama does not practice Zen Buddhism, per se (he's a Tibetan Buddhist of course), I'll mix my ColdFusion posts with sprinklings of quotes, thoughts, and philosophies that I find to be "zen" in the more general sense of the word.

"A Precious Human Life"

Every day, think as you wake up
"Today I am fortunate
to have woken up.
I am alive,
I have a precious human life,
I am not going to waste it.
I am going to use
all my energies to develop myself,
to expand my heart out to others,
to achieve enlightenment for
the benefit of all beings.
I am going to have
kind thoughts towards others.
I am not going to get angry,
or think badly about others.
I am going to benefit others
as much as I can."
- His Holiness the XIVth Dalia Lama

Why blog about ColdFusion?

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 20:29:36 GMT

To give back.